A technical assistant prepares a human fecal matter solution in a lab in Medford, Mass. A small new study suggests fecal transplants might help treat colitis associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.Steven Senne/AP

Use of immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat cancer is growing rapidly — and with it, so is a common side effect: colitis. A small new study suggests fecal transplants might help, but experts caution the potential treatment needs to be studied much more.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are a class of immunotherapy drugs that unleash the immune system to attack cancer cells. For some some patients on the drugs, colitis — inflammation in the colon that can cause bleeding, pain, diarrhea, and dehydration — can become so severe that some patients have to pause their cancer treatment while clinicians try to get the inflammation in check.

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